Sustainable Photocatalytic Synthesis for Clean Energy Production

Dear Colleagues,

The global transition toward sustainable energy systems requires efficient technologies for clean energy production. However, many contemporary energy carriers still rely on fossil resources and energy-intensive processes, posing significant environmental and sustainability challenges. In this context, harnessing renewable solar energy to drive chemical transformations has emerged as an attractive strategy for producing clean fuels and value-added chemicals. Photocatalysis provides a promising pathway by converting solar energy into chemical energy through light-driven redox reactions. Upon light irradiation, photocatalytic systems generate excited charge carriers that participate in reduction and oxidation processes, enabling the synthesis of energy-relevant compounds, such as hydrogen, ammonia, and other energy carriers, under ambient conditions. As such, photocatalytic synthesis represents a sustainable approach for cleaner energy production and sustainable energy molecule valorization.

Achieving efficient and selective photocatalytic reactions requires the rational design of advanced catalytic systems. In heterogeneous photocatalysis, effective materials must possess suitable band structures, strong light absorption, efficient charge separation, and stable surface active sites to facilitate complex redox transformations. Recent advances in materials engineering, including heterostructure construction, defect engineering, and nanostructure design, have significantly improved the performance of semiconductor-based photocatalysts. Meanwhile, homogeneous photocatalysts, such as molecular metal complexes and organic photosensitizers, offer complementary advantages including well-defined active sites, tunable electronic structures, and precise mechanistic control at the molecular level. Integrating these two catalytic paradigms, as well as developing hybrid systems that combine molecular catalysts with solid-state photocatalysts, opens new opportunities for efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion.

This Special Issue, entitled “Sustainable Photocatalytic Synthesis for Clean Energy Production,” will highlight recent advances in photocatalytic systems and their applications in clean energy generation. We welcome contributions exploring heterogeneous, homogeneous, and hybrid photocatalytic systems. Submissions focusing on catalyst synthesis, advanced characterization, mechanistic insights, and innovative applications in clean energy generation (such as hydrogen ammonia and photo-based synthetic fuels), energy molecule valorization (such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, biomass and plastic wastes) and environmental remediation are particularly encouraged. Through this Special Issue, we will showcase emerging strategies and recent progress in sustainable photocatalysis for energy and environmental applications.

Dr. Hui Su
Guest Editor

Dr. Jingtan Han
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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• photocatalysis
• solar-to-chemical energy conversion
• photo-based synthetic fuels (e.g., H₂, NH₃)
• energy molecule valorization (e.g., CH₄, CO₂, N₂, biomass, plastic)
• heterogeneous, homogeneous, and hybrid catalysis
• catalyst design
• mechanistic understanding
• environmental remediation